The urgency to create equitable communities where all people thrive continues, but many solutions have been slow to bring change. However, Twin Cities design and creative leaders are using design to build community that sustains culture, supports business development and nurtures belonging. Hear from Houston White, Hayley Matthews-Jones, Peyton Scott Russell, Keon Blasingame and Cornel Beard about the important role design plays in their efforts, which can provide a blueprint for change across the country while inspiring local designers and creatives to take their own meaningful actions. Space is limited.

Agenda:

4:30 – 5:15 p.m. Networking

5:15 - 6:15 p.m. Panel Event

6:15 p.m. Happy Hour

Enjoy drinks, dig into some apps and connect with others from the local design and creative community.

Meet Our Panelists: 

Houston White, Entrepreneur & Community Builder

Community leader and entrepreneur Houston White is a creative visionary who brings people across cultures together to elevate one another. As the founder of the Camdentown Business District in North Minneapolis, Houston activates growth initiatives for the community from annual events like the Blues & BBQ Festival to housing solutions like Camdentown Flats that make newcomers to the city feel at home. Houston is also the founder of the Houston White house of brands, a fashion house and community gathering space, and The Get Down Coffee Company, bringing Black culture to specialty coffee. Over the next five years, he is working with corporate and civic leaders to close the racial wealth gap through people-based placemaking in and beyond Minneapolis.

Peyton Scott Russell, Artist and Teacher

Peyton Scott Russell has been a teaching artist since 1990, focused on the advancement and development of graffiti art and its esthetic value as an educational program. He has founded several organizations, including House of Daskarone, Juxtaposition Arts, Art House Education, and most recently SPRAYFINGER, which seeks out support by building partnerships with artists, teachers, business owners, city officials, arts organizations, schools, community leaders, parents, and students to address and discuss culture, opportunity, possibility, and the process of graffiti writing for teaching its artistic principles. He is currently working on a fellowship granted by the Bush Foundation to focused on The Art of Creative Lettering: Graffiti and its curriculum developments and measurable outcomes for schools.

Hayley Matthews-Jones, Founder and CEO of Minneapolis Craft Market and Minneapolis Vintage Market, and the COO for The Get Down Coffee Company

Hayley Matthews-Jones named her LLC Vanishing Point Events because her work requires skill in the parallel lines of creativity and logistics. The vanishing point is the point on the horizon where those two lines converge, and that’s where the magic happens. She has worked in live events for 16 years and has been recognized with the following awards: Best Nonprofit Event Planning at the ILEA-MSP MN Star Awards (2016 and 2017), Special Events Planner of the Year by Minnesota Meetings & Events Magazine (2020), and 40 Under 40 by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (2020).

Keon Blasingame, Principal, LSE Architects

Cornel Beard, Designer and Co-founder of UnderRepresented

Cornel Beard is multidisciplinary designer specializing in branding, with a passion for people, innovation, and meaningful connections. His design purpose is to elevate clients' core messaging through thoughtful research and creative problem solving to find the common ground between producers and consumers. Alongside his love for design, he is passionate about mentoring and leadership, which is why he co-founded and co-hosts @UnderRepresented, a weekly podcast about design and culture from the Black perspective. His varied experience includes six years of serving in the US Army, which taught him valuable lessons about leadership, perseverance, organization, and the value of working as a team. 

Parking Instructions for 10 Thousand Design/Colle McVoy.

Building Community & Sustaining Culture Through Design - Panel Event